I had this idea a while ago, so I'm glad I finally found time to write it. This was written quickly and is unedited, but I hope you still enjoy!

As always, thanks for all the love and happy reading!


"Uh... Mao? You okay?" Ova called.

"I am fine, dearest!"

Ova contemplated the empty doorway for a few more moments before standing. He'd been working when Mao returned from the store nearly two hours prior, but his mate had told him to continue with his work while he began practicing in the kitchen. Ova had been certain there was no harm in letting him try to cook, but since then, there had been several concerning noises, and there was currently some sort of beeping going on and the sounds of a creature moving around. He grabbed his knife, just in case, and quickly moved through their home.

"Good job, dog, you're just about done cleaning up!"

Dread settled in Ova's gut as he rounded the corner and found the kitchen in complete disarray. Every counter seemed to be covered in a variety of substances, with the floor doing only slightly better due to the efforts of a large dog, who was currently licking up a puddle of red. Setting aside his knife, Ova moved forward to join Mao, who was teetering on a chair and trying to stop the smoke detector from going off. "What on Sileoden are you doing?"

"Mao! I was just pulled out the last pie and this blasted thing started making noise!"

"Let me fix it." Mao hopped down, nearly toppling over as he landed in a pile of something, and Ova quickly removed the battery from the detector so it would stop going off.

"Oh blessed Xdeaehencee, that is so much better."

"I have several questions," Ova said as he was suddenly jumped on by the dog who had finally noticed his presence. It barked at him twice before sniffing him vigorously and rubbing its head against Ova's hands. "First of all, why do you have a canine?"

"Isn't she marvelous!" Mao got down on his knees and crooned at the dog as he rubbed its head. "Her name is Beef and she's a dog! I was looking online to find a good way to clean the floor in here, and there were all sorts of cleaning recipes and tools and then I saw someone suggest one of these beasties and I just couldn't resist! This girl looked so sad at the shelter, I just had to get her! Do you like her? She was expensive to rent, but she has been absolutely worth it!"

Ova sighed. "Mao, dear, you don't rent dogs, you adopt them."

"Oh." Mao's eyes widened. "Oooooh. Oh dear. I am so sorry, dearest, I should have asked you before acquiring another resident for our home."

"It's okay," Ova reassured him with a soft smile. "I rather like her."

"And she smiles! Apparently that is rare among these creatures."

A pit bull, Ova thought to himself. It was a good thing they were in their home by means of the angels. From his research, he'd discovered that pits tended to have a bad reputation and many places that rented out living quarters didn't allow them. "Why on earth are you using her to clean, though?"

"It seemed the safer way, since I am unfamiliar with the chemicals used on this world. I did not want to inadvertently get us sick."

"That seems like a good idea, but you can't feed her by dropping food on the floor." Ova pet the dog on the head, who looked up at him with a wide smile and wagging tail. "Dogs eat special food, and if you give them the wrong human food, they could get sick or die."

"WHAT?!" Mao slapped his hands over his mouth. "Oh dear oh dear, do you think she's going to be okay?"

"We will have to do some research, but she seems okay, so she probably hasn't eaten anything bad yet. What have you been making?"

Instantly, Mao's excitement returned and he jumped to his feet to show off the many food items around the room. "This one is a meat pie. This one is a cherry pie. This one is a berry pie and also I made an apple pie! I did not see a recipe for orange pie, so I just recreated the one for apple, because oranges are delightful and I wanted a pie for them, oh, and I think this one might have been a joke because it required wet dirt and I did not see dirt as part of the edible food list I found earlier-"

"Why are you making so many?"

"Why do you know so much about dogs?" Mao countered as his ears began to redden. "I have my reasons," he defended himself.

Ova squinted at him. "Is this because of the meal with Lucy?"

"No," Mao answered too quickly.

Ova smiled and then answered Mao's question. "I know a little about dogs because we often see them when we go out walking and I was curious about why humans have them. I wanted to know if they served some purpose, or if we needed one of our own for protection."

"Oh." Mao glanced at Beef, who had stretched out in the corner and fallen asleep. "Well I am glad you did. We will need to make sure we acquire suitable food for her."

"I will go figure out what I need to in a bit for her," Ova said with a smile. "You're supposed to be the smart one," he sighed, " and yet, you always forget to do your research when you find something new and shiny to play with."

"That is not true!" Mao huffed.

Ova wrapped his arms around Mao as the alien contemplated the sleeping canine. "Why don't you tell me why you're making so much food. We won't be able to eat all of this before it goes bad."

"I'm just... practicing. This world has much more food than ours did. I'm used to the thirty six plants back home, but only a handful of them are similar to things found here, and humans also eat different kinds of liquid and even animals. I just want to get better so that we don't embarrass ourselves."

"Love, you can't lie to me," Ova said with a grin. "You want to impress Lucy, don't you?"

Mao didn't even try to argue. "I just..." He finally looked Ova's way, revealing shiny eyes. "She was so supportive. No one's ever been that supportive of us before-"

"Zalanoon was."

"He didn't care," Mao corrected. "That is not the same."

"I suppose." Ova kissed Mao's cheek. "How about you clean up some of this mess and then we'll take a break? I have some rope in my office, I'll make a lead for the dog and we can go for a walk. Afterwards, we'll go to the shop in town and get some things for her."

Mao smiled as he squeezed the arms wrapped around his middle. "Do you think Lucy likes dogs?"

"I'm sure she does," Ova replied as he slowly released his mate, allowing his fingers to move suggestively against Mao's sides. "We can stop and introduce them if you want?"

"Oooo, yes, let's!" Mao kissed Ova firmly on the lips before dashing off to change his clothes.

Ova sighed and glanced at the dog. "Completely forgot to clean up," he said fondly. Beef didn't even stir. With one more sigh, Ova quickly wrapped up the pies an set them on the mostly clean table before wiping down the counters. He had just finished up when Mao returned to the kitchen, changed and ready to go. "Let's go let's go let's- oh no I didn't clean up!"

"It's alright," Ova said. He set the rag in the sink before moving to kiss his beloved once more. "Just let me grab the rope and change my shirt so we can go."

Mao smiled at him fondly. "Alright."

As Ova changed his shirt, Mao called out, "What do you think we should do with the food?

With a devilish smirk, Ova closed the closet. "Maybe we should give them to Leo, to thank him for his hospitality!"

He rounded the corner to find Mao staring at him with wide eyes. "Ova, that's a great idea!" Hiding his smile, Ova tied his rope to Beef's collar and then helped Mao grab his pies so they could leave.

Earth was a complicated place to be. It was nothing like their home planet, but in many ways that was a good thing. They had a lot to learn, and Ova knew there would be struggles, but he didn't mind. He had Mao and a place where his beloved could be happy. So long as he had that, so long as they had each other, they would figure the rest out.

Plus, where else would he have the opportunity to pick on a guardian angel this way?

Leo sighed as he finally turned off the last light and headed towards the back door to leave. It had been a long day, but he'd enjoyed himself. Now he was headed home for a hot shower and a nice meal by himself, in the quiet of his own home.

As he opened the back door, he paused when he saw the small stack of boxes directly in his way.

Had someone forgotten to count an order? He frowned as he leaned down and picked up the note taped to the top.

Leo,

Mao has started learning to cook human food. He made too much for us, so I am hoping you'll be able to help us eat some of it.

He is very excited about it. I know that you own a restaurant, and I believe that you're input would be invaluable at helping him improve, so please at least try everything so you can give him some feedback. I made sure you had a bit of every dish.

Thanks in advance for your help.

-Ova

P.S. Word your criticism wisely. If you make him cry, I will not be pleased.

Leo frowned as he read the note while he locked the door. Did Ova have no faith in his mate at all? The smells coming from the boxes were pleasant, so surely they had turned out okay. The man was a scientist, Leo was sure he could follow a recipe well enough. He grabbed the stack and carried it to his car. He stomach growled as he smelled the boxes, and his mouth watered as he realized there were multiple kinds of pie.

He loved pie.

"Are those... oranges?"


And this short little bit.

Natsu grinned as he finally got within eyesight of Lucy's home. He'd been able to hear her excited voice for a while now, so he was happy to finally be able to see what she was so thrilled about. She was on her knees in the grass in front of her home petting a large brown dog. She was cooing to the thing as though it were a baby and the dog was thrilled about the attention. Mao and Ova were nearby, watching her with a pair of smiles on their face.

As he finally joined up with them, he noticed Leo inside Lucy's kitchen, watching from the other side of the window. He frowned as he stopped next to Ova. "What's up with him?"

"I think it's Beef," Ova answered, amused. "Lucy's cat has been watching us with a rather sour look, too."

Sure enough, Plue was also glaring through the window as Lucy continued to play with the dog. "Wait, beef?" Natsu asked, confused.

"Yeah, the dog," Ova answered.

"Beef is actually from cows," Natsu informed him.

"Beef is the dog's name," Mao clarified.

"Oh." Natsu stared at the dog. "That's a bit strange."

"Humans are a bit strange," Ova muttered quietly, making both Mao and Natsu chuckle.

"Ain't that the truth."